Why I'm angry with the Lib Dems

It's been a long time since I've blogged, but I've been thinking a lot since the election, and I've taken a bit of stick from certain quarters for my irritation with the Lib Dems. So, I decided to try and put down my thoughts about precisely why I'm so angry with them.

First, I accept I have a slightly different viewpoint than some, as I used to be a member of the Lib Dems - in fact, I was the Lib Dem's parliamentary candidate for Loughborough in 2005. I left the party for 3 reasons. 1 - During the election campaign, I could not argue against the record of the Labour party in terms of the improvements to the country since 1997, 2 - The manner in which the party dealt with Charles Kennedy's alcohol problem left a bitter taste in my mouth (not very liberal I thought) and I was concerned about the direction that Nick Clegg might take the party in (I was never a fan of the orange book brigade), and 3 - My local MP was someone worth fighting for and someone for whom I wanted to campaign. So, I decided to join the Labour party early 2006, and I know this was the right decision.

Events of the last few weeks have vindicated my decision. The Liberal Democrat party I was part of would never have sold out in the manner that I believe has happened. The way in which the Lib Dems seem to have changed their views on such key policy areas as immediate cuts in government spending mystifies me and raises questions about how "democratic" the party actually is - how much of a say do the members actually have on the upper echelons and the direction they go in. The orange bookers that lead the party seem to have been given carte blanche to do what they like. If I hadn't left the party in 2006, then I can safely say that without a shadow of a doubt I would have done so this month for this reason alone. Tuition fees - a key plank of the Lib Dems pledge seemingly gone - another example, the commitment to smaller class sizes, gone ... what is happening.

However, it doesn't stop there. The events over the weekend have annoyed me too. For the same reason that the Charles Kennedy incident annoyed me. I have a great deal of sympathy for David Laws, and can even (just about) understand his warped logic that justified his actions to himself. He was wrong, and right to resign, but when issues of sexuality and a lack of security in "who you are" come into play, you can make really daft judgements. What bothers me though out of all of this is the way in which Clegg seems to have gone silent. I bet people could point to lots of Internet, TV and newspaper articles that point to Clegg's sanctimonious "holier than thou" attitude during the election campaign, including the moment in the final debate at which I wanted to throw something at the TV! It seems, that the Lib Dems aren't that different to the "other" parties. I'm not defending or trying to big up Labour here, but to portray yourself as whiter than white, when it turns out you're as murky as the rest strikes me as a bit rich.

During the election, I had to deal with people telling me they were voting for the "new politics" of the Lib Dems. I'm angry with the Lib Dems because they were prepared to convince people this was true. However, what it really meant, was they were voting for a party prepared to sacrifice any scrap of Socialist principle to get a seat for their "liberal conservative" leader on the front bench. They were voting for a party that were prepared to portray themselves as the unscathed decent purporters of the "new politics" whereas they were in fact tarred with the same brush.

I am proud to be a member of the Labour party and will be proud to campaign under the new leader (whoever that may be) for the only decent, progressive, mainstream party that has a realistic chance of winning the next election. I hope that people who supported the Lib Dems in 2010 will consider joining me!

REAL Democracy!

Well, I got quite excited tonight. I like being a Councillor - I like the fact that I can make a difference with issues that people have, and I like belonging to the Labour group - they're a decent bunch and it's nice to have an ideological bond with people!

However, that aside, I sometimes get frustrated in meetings when people start talking about issues that any amount of talk isn't going to change. When people start indulging in the yah-boo politics that is undoubtedly influenced by the poor coverage we get of Westminster (and Prime Minister's Question Time in particular).

So, tonight was exciting, because we put forward an amendment (only a minor one), and one that my colleague Geoff Gay spoke on really well. The council's constitution was to be updated, and part of this was renaming the Plans Committee the Development Management Committee. Geoff's argument (and quite rightly) was that this was an unnecessary moniker change, as it took away a layer of accessibility and understanding between the public and the Council. As I said only a minor amendment, but an important point about making sure people understood what they were engaging with.

So, there was some to-ing and fro-ing, with front bench Tories arguing about needing the change from an internal point of view (they failed to grasp that this was about common sense and maintaining a degree of connection with what the public understand).

Geoff then demanded a public vote, and the amendment was carried thanks to a unanimous vote from our side (Lib Dems included) and 7 brave Tories! Why did I get so excited about this? Because, for the first time it felt like we'd influenced something! It felt like democracy was actually doing what it's supposed to be doing - genuine debate bringing a genuine decision rather than the Punch and Judy style that we often see.

Perhaps I'm being a little idealistic, but I'd much rather see a genuine debate than attempts at point scoring and snideness. Maybe, if the leaders of our political parties focussed on solid policy rather than point scoring then maybe we would see a far improved level of genuine democratic engagement? DOn't get me wrong, a large part of my enjoyment of the evening came from watching the Tories squirm and watch them realise they'd lost the vote, but when people are prepared to debate, consider and talk properly ... maybe that's what's needed?

Annoyed

It's been a while since I've blogged, but events of today have REALLY annoyed me ... Some of us are (optimistically) holding onto the belief that the Labour party might actually be able to build on an improving poll position and take a really strong fight to the Tories at the next election.

Then what happens? Two of the old guard (by which I mean Hoon and Hewitt) pop up and start suggesting secret ballots etc. What the f*** are they doing? Is their own personal gripe with Brown such that they can't see that their actions could have damaged the party? These people first and foremost have been elected to represent their constituents as a representative of the LABOUR party. Loyalty is really important, and what we need above all else is for those at the top of our party to realise that what they do has a DIRECT impact on what we as activists have to deal with. When we ring a voter, or knock on a door, the person we come into contact with will have their view of the Labour party influenced by the picture created by the selfish actions of people like Hoon and Hewitt. And then, naturally, such "heavy hitters" as Field, Clarke and MacTaggart (who?) wade into the argument voicing their support ...

Those of us that are campaigning in particularly close marginal constituencies could really do without this kind of thing ... Thanks a lot!!

Should mention Tom at Bage Blog whose far superior rant prompted this spewing of bile from me!!

E is for Education!

OK, I've started the other blog - the one about education. It's a more work related one, so there probably won't be pictures of plastic cows humping each other (sorry to disappoint you)!!

You can see the first entry here - http://eisforeducation.blogspot.com/2009/09/e-is-for-education.html

I hope you enjoy reading it. Keep checking it for info about what's going on and the work that's being trialled!

Brazil – Day 7

Final day … If you’ve been reading my account of the Brazil adventure, you’re probably quite pleased at this point. It’s been a long journey!! Fortunately, we didn’t do quite as much. First a confession, I nearly “accidentally” slept in on the last day. I was so tired … However, I’m so pleased I didn’t. My eyes were opened to the kind of conditions that some people live in, and while so much of what I saw was motivating and exciting, it was underpinned in that new reality – that people live in conditions I can’t even imagine. I don’t know about you, but when I see appeals and things on Red Nose Day or Children in Need for example I’m moved. I am affected and it makes me want to give some money – which I do normally. I’ve always watched those things in a very matter of fact way though. On this last day, I got to see it for myself – poverty, people living in cramped conditions, and then I got to meet some of the people who were making changes for some people. Sadder still, I met people that weren’t getting the help … I have sometimes wondered about whether or not the tears Lenny Henry cries on his Red Nose Day videos are crocodile tears. If my reaction to what I saw today is anything to go by, then I’ll have to say no now …

We started the day with a bus ride out to a favela in Sao Paulo. A favela is an area of low quality housing. Houses are built literally one on top of the other – there’s no green space and the roads are pretty appalling. To be honest, you’d probably call them slums – but not slums in the way you would understand it in the UK. in the UK, even the worst quality housing is better than this. The houses are built on land that isn’t owned by anyone, which means that people have no security in their homes – they haven’t a legal leg to stand on. I met a family who had two rooms (I think), and six people living in it – and one cat (I tried, unsuccessfully, to get them to call the cat Graeme)! We were going to see the work of Instituto Rukha. They exist to try and impact families in the Southern region of Sao Paulo city. The best way to describe their work is for you to watch this video!

I got to meet with a couple of these ‘educators’ and was taken to visit a family by them. They were called Felipe and Aline. We went to the house and I was impressed by how welcoming the family were. The mother wasn’t there, and I met with the father, and 3 of the boys. They have another child too (who also wasn’t there). I got to ask lots of questions, and it was really interesting that they genuinely value the help that they were getting. The father had been training to become a cleaner. He explained that he had to get over his fear of doing a woman’s profession. The eldest son had been learning how to get a job and create his own CV. Still, despite getting this help, they still lived in conditions that would make almost anyone in the UK balk with surprise. The house was dirty, the electricity supply, was probably illegal – they had a cat, so it could catch rats – what better protection?? While I was sitting in there, I found it really hard to talk on one or two occasions, because I was genuinely choked. Just before we’d gone in, I’d asked how much one of these favela homes cost to live in. I was told it cost around $R 1000, which is about £300. My digital camera cost more than that!! I was almost embarrassed sitting there, not to mention a little guilty. I was interested though in the fact that they seemed quite keen to have their photo taken. By the way, the pictures of the favelas that are below were not taken on the morning of this visit – I took them during a bus ride on another day. Another interesting reflection, is about football. Football is a universal language. I was wearing my Sao Paulo FC top on this final day, and I was visiting a house of FC Corinthians fans!! It was football that led the conversation though, and I’ve found this to be the case so often! Football is ace, it transcends borders and people are always enthusiastic to learn about it. Even Leicester City!! By the way, look at the pictures – see if you can spot Corinthian the cat!! (not Graeme, sadly)!

I am fully intending visiting Instituto Rukha again next year, and I’m looking forward to maybe even helping out. After this we visited another project that I’m very keen to visit again. This project works really closely with Instituto Rukha and is called Casa do Zezinho (literally the House of Jacks). It’s a place where some of the most needy can find education and social support, and it was amazing. The work, the colour and all that they were doing. I simply cannot put it into words. Here’s a video that describes what the project is all about.

It was started by one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever met called Tia Dag. She simply spreads love! When we got there, we were hugged – something I'm not the best at dealing with, and the whole place simply exuded joy. We saw loads of children creating, achieving and working well together. These children really valued what they had and the opportunity they had been given. It wasn’t just children though, the centre works with people from 6 – 21. We invaded a English class at one point – I showed them all how to say and spell Leicester (I do my bit to spread the cause of the Foxes)! All I can do is show you the colour – maybe you’ll see just a little of what I saw …

After this morning, I was drained. We had a bus ride back into the centre, and we spent at least a part of it talking about our experience. I was in bits. The injustice that some people have to deal with and put up with as a part of their lives is unacceptable. We have no idea how good we have it in the UK – and this is why I was so moved by the Casa do Zezinho – it was something that I could see that was making a REAL difference. Something that was giving light where there seems to be no light and no future. This was something too that Instituto Rukha was doing. It didn’t matter how many mountains we went up, or business people we met – if I take nothing else from this trip, it should be a reawakening of a passion for justice and seeing people treated fairly. I hope I never lose that, or allow it to become watered down as I think it has been.

We then went for lunch at a restaurant – I had nothing left at this point, and while the food was ace, I’m sure I’m not alone in being slightly unnerved by the lavishness of it compared with what we’d just seen. This also served as a chance to say goodbye, and that was hard too. We’d had a draining, exhausting week. But, if I’m honest one of the most challenging, moving weeks of my life. This was an unrepeatable experience – if it changes nothing in the way I approach or do things, then it will have failed. If we go home and have no impact as a result of this trip it was pointless. I’m certainly going to be considering some things as a result of this trip, and if you’re lucky I’ll probably be blogging about them too!! I am so privileged to have had this opportunity, and I can’t wait to share it with people at school. Maybe we can have an impact as a group, and not just as individuals? I’m also looking forward to doing some work with some of the other guys I met on the trip. Work around the 5 “Es” – again, more on that later.

I can’t finish a blog about Brazil, without the staple English photo – tourists in their new ‘local’ football shirts at the airport. Thanks for reading :)

Most important thing about Day 7 – Justice – pure and simple. I don’t want to sit on the sideline while people are being treated unfairly. That’s it!

Brazil – Day 4 (bonus)

Like all good DVDs, I’ve got a bonus feature to share with you all!!  Eletrocooperativa did a video of the time we spent with them.  Here it is!!  See if you can spot me ;)

Incidentally, this session we spent at Eletrocooperativa is providing inspiration for my PM lesson on September 3rd … you may well see that online if you’re lucky!!

Brazil – Day 6

The trip carried on unabated.  By Day 6, I was starting to get a bit tired!!  I feel a bit guilty saying that, as we were being royally entertained and kept interested in so many different things.  We started day 6 with a VERY early start, and a VERY long drive to a town called Campinhas – apparently the Brazilian equivalent of Silicon Valley.  There was an accident on one of the motorways, so the bus had to take an even longer way round.  That’s something worth mentioning – the motorways!  There are shed loads of roads around Sao Paulo, and loads of buses, but that’s about it.  Brazil has few railways so as a result that roads are plentiful, wide and rammed with traffic.  Everywhere you go seems to be filled with cars and traffic jams.  When you stop, you’re often confronted with people trying to sell you things, from chocolate bars to (peculiarly) dog leads.  At one point in the week we wondered whether Brazilian people simply drove around and did their weekly shop on the way home.  As you will see in Day 7, there are schemes in place to try and help people overcome the need to do the on-street selling.  Lots of people doing the selling were children, and that was quite difficult to watch.  There was clear evidence of poverty and that’s really difficult to deal with when you’ve got money (even if it doesn’t feel like sometimes).

Anyway, more on that later.  Back to Campinhas … We went to visit an entrepreneur called Fabricio Bloisi.  He founded a company called Comperantime 10 years ago.  He and a university colleague sat down and decided to start a business.  They said that they wanted to create a $1 billion company that would compete with Microsoft!!  (not a bad starting point).  They realised that mobile technology was taking off in Europe and also realising that Brazil was lagging behind, it would be a salient idea to start developing the same technologies in Brazil!  Morgan Stanley produce a document called Tech Trends 2.0 – in 2008, it stated that the growth area would be the use of and development of mobile technology in BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) or the emerging economies.  This is therefore where Comperantime will be focussing its development efforts.  We were told - “mobile technology is the next big thing, not the Internet!”

The conversation then turned to a problem of skills gap.  Fabricio was concerned at the gap between education and business.  This wasn’t in the way I was expecting, but in terms of the skills that people need in order to succeed in business and to contribute to his company.  He talked about his need for workers that know how to learn, that can set themselves personal goals and objectives and can research and work independently.  The most important facet was the need to be self motivated.  What intrigued me here was that he was not that concerned with traditional knowledge, but more the qualities of an individual.  the degree someone gets is less important than their ability to adapt and work to new situations … quite a challenge to someone from a qualification driven structure!  Our school does a lot of good work regarding creating independent learners etc., but is it worth it while the overall aim is getting a qualification??  Surely developing the student to be ready for what comes next is of as much if not greater importance?  This may be slightly controversial, but I’m saying it anyway! 

Our next visit was rather an odd one, and probably the only time in the week where I was unable to really focus and get anything out of it.  We went to Unicamp, one of Brazil’s best universities and met a couple of professors who were (eventually) keen to talk about education and technology in particular.  The visit seemed a little contrived and there wasn’t really a thrust to it.  It felt slightly one way, and I had to start making notes in order to prevent myself falling asleep.  On the upside, there were some lovely flowers outside!!

After we’d finished there, we got back on the bus and had a packed lunch of soggy sandwiches (which were welcome) and crisps.  Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t persuade Julia to let us stop at McDonalds.  In truth, this was probably a good thing as we were headed to what was my favourite bit of the trip so far!

We went to visit a CDI school.  CDI stands for Committee for Democracy in Information Technology.  They are a charitable organisation that provides computer equipment and software to schools and communities, providing a “teach the teacher” curriculum to its social enterprises.  They currently have nearly 100 across the world – of which 750 are in Brazil.  We had a brief presentation and then we got to see some computers in action.  We had been due to meet more students, however, the swine flu threat meant there weren’t many around.  We did, however, meet a few students in a room with a few PCs – their teacher was very young at 21 – he was someone who’d been given a chance because he’d take the opportunities provided to him by the CDI.  I’m sad to say I didn’t make a note of many names at this point.  I’d left the nifty notebook I’d been using all week on the bus.  CDI was formed by a guy named Rodrigo Baggio – a computer science teacher (taking after my own heart obviously) … this video clip sums up why the organisation was set up and what it’s been achieving!

As we wandered round, we saw the class I’d just mentioned.  We also saw a room sponsored by Coca Cola, where some students were learning about business studies and ICT combined – I was in heaven (and not just because of all the coke themed stuff on the walls)!!  They were using real life case studies to help educate students in some business basics.  I’ve included some pictures below – they show some of the worksheets.  I reckon they could even work in the UK!! (even in Portugese)!  Again, the teacher in this class was incredibly young – you can see him below showing off his textbook!  I had the opportunity to show them where George Spencer School was on googlemaps – I even showed them on the streetmap view, so they could see our language block.  They were disappointed that we don’t learn Portugese … maybe that’s something I should try and get going??  We also met some kids on the street outside, who were unimpressed by our new found fondness for Sao Paulo FC … I explained to them that Leicester City were the best team in the UK, but I’m not sure they believed me (or that the person translating was being 100% polite) …

    

We didn’t stop there!!  Despite already being an hour behind, we were offered the opportunity to go and look at another project in another town.  We leapt at the chance, and travelled for another hour to look at a scheme being run that was working on basic literacy, ICT and numeracy skills.  They were working under the banner of Amigos do Planeta (which even I worked out meant Friends of the Planet).  There was a bus, with people learning how to use a computer, an exam hall where people could sit basic skills tests and a computer bank with kids games on it – they were great, I enjoyed colouring in a cat!!  Then, the coolest thing, before we got back to the bus we saw some kids playing football.  We went and joined in – it was brilliant – I’m gutted, that I don’t have any pictures of it, because it was ace.  I even strung a couple of passes together.  Those of you that know me, will know football is not my greatest talent!!  I really enjoyed this encounter, as well as the encounter with the kids earlier in the day.  This was because it gave us the opportunity to actually talk with and be with some ‘real’ Brazilians.  We didn’t really mix too much outside the Leaders’ Quest experience, and that was a shame.  This meant that the moments we did, we really got to treasure!!

 

When we got back, we’d managed to blag an hour’s free time – we went down the shopping street.  I bought a couple of Sao Paulo FC shirts, and Uno (you might remember the card game).  I almost caused a diplomatic incident when I noticed that Justin’s purchase had been wrapped better than mine, and as a result mine was rewrapped.  Fortunately, the lady in the shop saw the funny side – I was mortified!!

After that entertaining trip into the shopping area, we had our final dinner.  This was amazing.  Wine on tap, gorgeous steak, and a pudding table to (literally) die for.  We also had a bit of a ‘revue’ with one or two acts taking place.  This included the Genettes (a group formed in tribute to our own Gene Early).  This was a lot of fun, and a fitting celebration of the time we had.  We had our dinner at A Figueira Rubaiyat restaurant – apparently one of the most celebrated restaurants in Latin America.  There was a 1000 year old tree in the middle of it!  I’m not sure they were ready for a party of around 30 UK teachers and associates, but they coped admirably.  We also took advantage of the opportunity to be slightly smutty (well, you do, don’t you??).  The good news – there’s only one more day to hear about after this, but you might want a hanky!!

 

Most important thing from Day 6 – Entrepreneurship and skills.  I’ve been really struck by the need to not simply create students who get the grade, but students who can show initiative and a real sense of direction.  So often, you ask kids “what do you want to do?” and they’ll say “dunno, don’t care” etc.  Part of what we need to do is help kids see that they have a FUTURE.  What they do and achieve in school will determine what that future is.  This is about so much more than 5 GCSEs – it’s about being able to solve problems, being able to work in a team etc.  It’s about being proactive and about being employable.  We have to show students that school matters.  In Brazil only the few get a really good crack at education – if our students maybe understood how lucky they were … ??!??